§ 1675 - Permits; conditions; duration; suspension of revocation - Vermont Statutes

§ 1675. Permits; conditions; duration; suspension of revocation

(a) Authority to issue, renew, or deny permit. The secretary may issue, renew, or deny a public water system permit required by this chapter. As part of this authority, the secretary may issue general operating permits for the operation of transient noncommunity water systems.

(b) Avoidance of public health hazard or risk. A public water system permit shall be issued or renewed only upon a finding by the secretary, included in the permit, that operation of the system will comply with the standards adopted under this chapter and will not constitute a public health hazard or a significant public health risk.

(1) In making this finding for the issuance of a permit for a new public water source, the secretary shall consider the probable effects of existing and likely future land use practices, including the effects of the uses of agricultural lands, that may affect the quantity or quality of the water associated with any proposed public water source, and whether such practices are likely to constitute a public health hazard relating to such source. The secretary shall not issue a permit for a new public water source if he or she determines that such existing or likely future land use practices are likely to constitute such a public health hazard.

(2) In making this finding for the issuance of a permit for the addition of a new type of disinfectant, the secretary shall, after consultation with the department of health, consider the likely effects on health from the use of the new type of disinfectant. The secretary shall not issue a permit for a new or existing public water system if he or she determines that use of a new type of disinfectant will result in a health effect that is likely to constitute a public health hazard.

(c) Notice and hearing.

(1) The secretary shall give notice of each application for a new source for a community or nontransient, noncommunity water system to the public by publication in a newspaper of general circulation for the area containing the proposed system and by causing a notice to be posted in the clerk's office for the municipality containing the proposed system or source. The secretary shall also give notice to appropriate state agencies. The applicant shall notify all adjoining landowners. The secretary shall provide an opportunity for written comment or a public hearing, or both, on the application before ruling on the application. The secretary may require the applicant to submit additional information which the secretary considers necessary in order to support the findings required in subsection (b) of this section, and may refuse to grant a permit until the information is furnished and evaluated. The secretary may also consult with the commissioner of health, as necessary, in making decisions regarding health issues raised by the application. The commissioner's response, if any, shall be part of the public record for the application.

(2) The secretary shall give notice to the public of each application by a public community system for the addition of a new type of disinfectant by publication in a newspaper of general circulation for the area containing the proposed system and by causing a notice to be posted in the clerk's office for the municipality in which the system is located. The secretary shall also give notice to appropriate state agencies. The secretary shall provide an opportunity for written comment and shall, upon request, provide for a public hearing on the application before ruling on the application. The secretary may require the applicant to submit additional information which the secretary considers necessary in order to support the findings required in subsection (b) of this section, and may refuse to grant a permit until the information is furnished and evaluated. The secretary may also consult with the commissioner of health, as necessary, in making decisions regarding health issues raised by the application. The commissioner's response, if any, shall be part of the public record for the application.

(d) Permit conditions. Public water system permits issued under this chapter may include, but shall not be limited to, conditions which:

(1) require the construction, installation, operation and maintenance of any purification, disinfection of other water processing or treatment facility in accordance with standards and requirements established by the secretary;

(2) require the person owning or controlling the system to adequately control and protect the public water source and source protection area;

(3) require that construction be in accordance with the Vermont standards for water system design and construction;

(4) require notification of the characteristics of the water provided by the system to the public by notice conforming with the requirements of the Federal Safe Drinking Water Act;

(5) limit the number of connections to the system;

(6) limit maximum and daily output of the system;

(7) require the development and submission to the secretary of a long-range plan for expansion, capital improvements and future service area;

(8) require the development, submission to the secretary, and implementation of a water conservation plan in accordance with the policy established in section 1684 of this title;

(9) require the development and submission to the secretary of a system-level business plan and comprehensive water supply plan to ensure system capacity in the long-term; and

(10) contain any additional conditions, requirements, schedules or restrictions or monitoring or testing programs which are deemed necessary to assure compliance with this chapter and the rules adopted under this chapter.

(e) Duration of permit. An operating permit shall be valid for the period of time specified in the permit but not more than ten years.

(f) Suspension or revocation of permits.

(1) The secretary may, after notice and opportunity for hearing, revoke or suspend any permit issued pursuant to the authority under this title if the secretary finds that:

(A) the permit holder submitted materially false or inaccurate information;

(B) the permit holder has violated any material requirement, restriction or condition of this chapter, any rule promulgated thereunder, or any permit or certification issued pursuant to this chapter, or any assurance of discontinuance or order relating to the provisions of this chapter or the rules promulgated thereunder; or

(C) there is a change in any condition that requires either a temporary or permanent restriction, limitation or elimination of the permitted use.

(2) Revocation shall be effective upon actual notice thereof to the permit holder or permit holder's designated agent.

(g) Beginning July 1, 2010, the secretary shall not issue a source permit for a bottled drinking water supply unless, in addition to all other requirements for a source permit:

(1) the permit application contains the information required by subdivisions 1418(d)(4)-(7) of this title;

(2) the secretary finds that considerations in subdivisions 1418(e)(1)-(3) and (6)-(8) of this title have been satisfied;

(3) the permit contains the permit conditions required by subsection (f) of this section; and

(4) the permit applicant complies with the notice requirements of subsection 1418(c) of this title.

(h) A public water system permitted after the effective date of this act that bottles drinking water for public distribution and sale shall obtain from the secretary a source water permit under subsection 1672(b) of this title upon renewal of its operating permit under this section and every 10 years thereafter. (Added 1991, No. 71, § 2; amended 1991, No. 256 (Adj. Sess.), § 23a, eff. June 9, 1992; 1997, No. 134 (Adj. Sess.), § 10; 2005, No. 15, § 2; 2005, No. 144 (Adj. Sess.), § 2; 2007, No. 133 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; No. 199 (Adj. Sess.), § 5, eff. June 9, 2008.)